


One Thing to Say

by Ultranimallover33



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, F/M, Fluff, the good stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-10-28 07:31:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17783195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultranimallover33/pseuds/Ultranimallover33
Summary: Today was the day, Nino could feel it.He was going to tell Alya he loved her.





	One Thing to Say

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be done on valentine's day whoops

Nino let out a determined huff and confidently glared at his reflection in the mirror.

Today was the day, he could feel it.

He was going to tell Alya he loved her.

Considering today was Valentine's Day, it of course seemed like the perfect time. He bounced on his feet a little and shook his head rigorously, pumping himself up. 

Even though he and Alya had already been dating for a few months, no kisses or 'I love yous' had been shared as of yet. So far, the most of it had been tender hand-holding and cuddling, a dash of flirting mixed in. However, Nino really felt like he was ready to take the next step.

"Come on, Lahiffe..."he mumbled to himself. "Come on, you totally got this." He flexed and tried doing pose after pose in front of the mirror, only to be interrupted by the bathroom door suddenly swinging open. Nino jumped back with a surprised squeal.

Chris, his younger brother, gave the DJ a perplexed look. "What are you doing?"

Nino blinked. "Uh, nothing!" He pulled out his phone and checked the time, eyes widening when he realized how late it was. Suddenly frantic, he dashed past Chris while shouting, "Gotta get to school, bye!" He grabbed a piece of toast and stuffed it in his mouth before opening the front door.

"Have a great day, sweetie!" his mother called out after him.

"MMMPH, phanks, ma!" he yelled back through the toast, slamming the door shut a second later.

He ran for the school, ignoring the way his heart started picking up its pace the closer he got. As he neared his destination, he could already see the plethora of red and pink. Nino slowed down and took the last bite of his breakfast, already feeling his anxieties and insecurities creeping up on him.

Was it really the right time? He hadn't even gotten Alya a gift or anything, and it was Valentine's Day! What was he thinking?! She was totally going to reject him!

He was tempted to turn around and give up for the day, but a sudden and rather large shake of the ground captured his attention. Soon, screaming in the distance followed.

He wanted to groan. Another akuma. This just proved Hawkmoth didn't have a heart. Couldn't he just give it a rest, especially on a holiday? Especially on VALENTINE'S DAY?

The akuma sounded distant, so Nino sprinted to the school. As he neared the entrance, he almost ran smack into his best friend, who seemed desperate to escape the school as soon as possible.

"Whoa, dude!" Nino exclaimed, grabbing Adrien by the shoulders. "What's going on?"

"An akuma," Adrien answered simply, eyes wary and never landing directly on one thing. "School's been temporarily canceled until further notice just in case it gets too dangerous."

Nino wasn't sure whether to be relieved or more nervous than before. He put his hands back to his sides and threw his head back with a loud sigh. "Why today, of all days?"

"I dunno. If you ask me, it's kind of selfish of Hawkmoth."

Nino scoffed. "Since when has anything Hawkmoth's done _not_ been selfish?"

Adrien scratched his neck and laughed a little, though he seemed really fidgety. "I guess you're right. Ah, listen, Nino, I really gotta go-uh-get away from the akuma! I'll see you later!" Before Nino could respond, his best friend sprinted away with frightening speed.

"Nino! There you are!"

Nino jumped and turned around, finding himself face-to-face with his beloved girlfriend. She had that spark in her eyes, the one that always had Nino's skin crawl with worry. She grabbed his arm and harshly dragged him along with her before Nino could say anything. "Marinette disappeared the moment there was an akuma alert and I _reeeaally_ need someone to come with me," she answered his unasked question once he opened his mouth.

"What?" he responded with wide eyes. "Alya, you can't go after that akuma!" He tried shoving his feet into the ground to slow her down, but she pursued her antics stubbornly.

"Why not? We'll be sure to keep a safe distance, Nino, I thought we agreed on this!"

Nino was silent for a moment, listening to the distant screams that only got louder the closer they got. Akumas didn't usually make people scream.

"I just...have a really bad feeling about this."

The ground shook again, this time with enough ferocity to send both Nino and Alya to the floor.

Nino's response was a worried whine. Alya's was giddy laughter.

"This is gonna be so big!" she nearly squealed, leaping to her feet and dashing off without bothering to grab her partner.

"W-WAIT," he screeched, getting to his feet as quickly as he could before chasing after her. Alya soon stopped at the corner of a building, peeking her head over the side as she observed the calamity before her.

When Nino finally caught up to her, he gasped before immediately taking shelter behind his girlfriend. He had only seen a small glimpse of the scene, but even that was enough to make him clutch onto Alya's shirt and hide his face in her back.

It was chaos, from what he could've seen. Every table in sight was turned to the side or was upside down, along with a few being broken. Crevices and holes were everywhere, deeming it nearly impossible to walk through. A plethora of papers and food were also strewn about, what from Nino did now know, nor did he care. The scene was...eerily quiet. Not a person was in sight.

"We need to leave," he spoke into her shirt.

"Where's the akuma?" she said, completely ignoring his previous statement.

"I don't know, but I don't plan on staying here long enough to find out." He grabbed her wrist and pulled it back a little, not wanting to forcefully drag her away but to give her the memo. For the first time in what felt like forever, she turned her face towards him and locked their eyes. "Please.." he begged, refusing to tear his gaze away from her gorgeous hazel eyes.

Alya turned her worried eyes back to the wrecked area, biting her lip anxiously. She was clearly having a battle with herself, deciding if it would be better to follow her boyfriend's ambitions or her own.

It broke Nino's heart, seeing her excitement fizz away, but he would rather that than lingering any longer.

"I just...I just want to get a few pictures.." she said, gazing longingly at the disaster. She turned back to him. "I promise it won't take long."

Nino sighed, reluctantly letting go of her wrist. She smirked at him to lighten the mood. "I'll be fine! There's no one here, anyway." She leaned forward and pecked his cheek, smiling triumphantly when he suddenly stood rigid and wide-eyed at her actions. She took his moment of distraction to good use and raced to the area that had her dangerously curious.

The reporter observed every nook and cranny while taking pictures of everything she found interesting, not noticing that in no time she was no longer in Nino's sights.

It surprised Nino how long it took him to recover from the innocent cheek kiss. When he shook his head and got back to his senses, though, he turned to where he last saw Alya.

And that's when he screamed.

He couldn't find her. The area wasn't even that big and she had completely disappeared. "Alya!" he screeched, dashing into the scene and pushing over tables and other messes without a second thought.

A scream closer and more recognizable than the others caught his attention. He stood stiff as a board for one moment, then ran in the direction of the scream the next.

He hoped beyond anything else that the scream did not come from who he thought it did. He had never hoped for anything more in his life.

His hope spiraled downward when he turned another corner. Alya was backed up against a wall and a terrifying, ten foot tall... _thing_ was looming in front of her. It was undoubtedly the akuma; the creature was mostly humanoid, yes, but it had features that were anything but. Her height was one thing, but her cherry-red skin and extra set of limbs was another. The akuma wielded a terrifying spear nearly twice her own height, and just the sight of it sent chills down Nino's spine.

However, what worried him most was how vulnerable Alya looked. His girlfriend couldn't have backed further into the wall behind her if she tried. One of her arms was in front herself defensively and while she stood her ground courageously, giving the akuma a defiant glare, her posture showed that she was clearly petrified. Nino couldn't blame her. He thought Anansi was frightening, but just one look at this akuma was enough to make _Alya_ , of all people, cower in fear. Nino knew he needed to do something to get her out of there, but his feet didn't seem to want to cooperate, much to his dismay.

"Silly little girl.." the akuma taunted in a thick accent, her booming voice nearly shaking the ground beneath her. "You really think you can fight me?"

"I can sure try, you red-skinned piece of turd!" Alya shot back.

Something twisted uncomfortably in Nino's gut once the words left her mouth. She probably shouldn't have said that.

The akuma threw her head back and guffawed loudly, a few windows nearby breaking to pieces by her laugh alone. When she finally righted herself, she snarled in satisfaction as she readied her spear, twirling it a few times simply to add extra effect. "You'll soon regret those words, child." Her actions caused Nino's stomach to churn and, when she pulled her spear back, his brain immediately went on autopilot.

"ALYA!" Nino screamed deliriously, finally able to lunge himself forward and harshly shoulder his girlfriend out of the way. Her surprised grunt when she fell to the floor was the last thing he heard before an indescribable amount of pain seared through his body, significantly in the area directly below his chest. What he thought would be a grunt of pain turned out to be a desperate gasp, one that unfortunately did not give him the air he thought he would receive.

* * *

* * *

Alya had prepared herself for the worst when the giant akuma before her pulled her spear back, ready to attack. What she didn't expect was a distressed cry coming from her boyfriend, followed by a fierce shove. Alya fell to the floor with a startled squawk, rolling a moment before getting back on her knees.

When she looked up, she choked on her own gasp, feeling her eyes widen at the scene that had befallen before her.

The akuma's spear was going right through Nino's rib cage, giving the wall directly behind him a powerful tap. A noise that was a mix between gasping and groaning fell from the boy's lips as his eyes weakly fluttered open, tears of pain already streaming down his face. Alya felt her own tears begin to fall down her cheeks as she let out a cry of anguish, quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

Nino's body started slumping forward but the akuma grabbed his neck harshly, forcing the boy back. His teeth were clenched in pain as one of his hands weakly grabbed the akuma's by the wrist.

The red being eyed him for a moment before jeering, "Hmm. Brave boy..." She pulled the spear out, ignoring his miserable outcry as she held him up still. "But _stupid_."

A purple butterfly silhouette appeared around her eyes. She rolled her eyes and grunted a few times, but once the butterfly faded, she took a few steps backward and leaped away, soon out of sight.

Alya gasped again when Nino fell to his knees and then to his stomach. She quickly crawled over to him despite her trembling limbs and cried, "Nino!", already noticing blood pool around his body and soaking his shirt. Tears falling rapidly despite her constant sniffling, she grabbed his shoulder and turned him over. "No...no no no..." He slowly opened his eyes and smiled sweetly at her, bringing one of his shaky hands up to her cheek. She instantly fell into his hand, grabbing the back of it with her own.

 "Ah-Alya," he croaked. He looked down and cringed at his ever-growing red body, bringing a hand down to his abdomen and gawking at it when it came back up covered in blood. "Ow." He coughed a few times as Alya merely sobbed. "Alya, I-hah- I need to tell you somethin..g."

Alya placed his head in her lap and urged him to continue with a nod.

He laughed shallowly. "Heh. Now's as good a time as any, I guess.."

"What is it?" Alya choked, her stuffy voice foreign to the both of them.

His golden eyes met with her own, soft and filled to the brim with adoration despite his current agony. "I...I love you. I-" He coughed, a few droplets of blood escaping his mouth. "I was g-gonna tell you today...and I made sure of it."

Her eyes clenched shut and she sobbed, bringing his head forward and placing a wet, tender yet heartfelt kiss to his lips. She felt him smile against her lips softly, and though he was currently unable to kiss back efficiently, the amount of effort he put into it nonetheless told Alya that his words were really true. When she pulled her head back up, she hugged him tightly and babbled, "I love you...Nino, I love you _so much_. Please...please you need to stay with me.."

The way Alya felt was indescribable. She was in almost as much pain as he was, unable to take the immense guilt she felt off her shoulders. All she could do at the moment was hold his head as close to her as she could, ignoring the blood sprouting from his lips and onto her lap and arms. He was now too weak to even keep his eyes open, breath growing shallower by the second. 

And soon, he wasn't breathing at all. 

* * *

* * *

"Okay. So. Don't _ever_. Do that again."

Nino snorted at her playfully. "Do what? Save your life?"

"At the expense of your own life, yes!"

Once the akuma attack was finally over, Alya and Nino had decided to go to find a quiet place in the park to talk rather passionately about the day's earlier events. Nino sat on a bench as Alya stood directly in front of him, giving the boy an accusing yet worried glare.

Nino crossed his arms and smiled at her. "I guess you're just gonna have to live with it, babe."

She gawked at him. "What?"

"If you think I'm just gonna...stand back an-and do _nothing_ if something drastic happens, you are very, very wrong."

Instead of arguing back as he had expected, she sat next to him on the bench and sighed. "Nino..." she said, eyes casting to the floor. "You died."

Nino blinked at her instead of responding, so she continued, nose beginning to twitch. 

"Listen, I...I know we put so much trust into Ladybug, and for a good reason, but...what if one of these days...she _doesn't_ beat the akuma?"

He gave her an impish smile. "You, of all people, are saying this?"

"I'm serious, Nino!" she nearly wailed as she grabbed his shirt and pulled his face closer to hers. The tears were already flowing freely before she had a chance to control it but, frankly, she didn't care all that much. "The akumas these days are getting harder and harder, we know that! Ladybug and Chat Noir are the unstoppable team but they've had to get help countless times and-and-" She sniffed once before stuffing her face in his shirt and weeping uncontrollably. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." he soothed, rubbing her back comfortingly. 

"I can't lose you, Nino..." she mumbled, voice muffled. "If you keep doing that, one of these days you won't come back a-and-" Her fists clenched around his shirt and she pulled it closer towards her. "And I won't be able to live with myself."

Her words caused Nino's eyes to water, as well, so he simply held onto her tighter, ignoring the tears that soaked his shirt as she continued her uncontrollable snuffling. 

They were in their tender embrace for quite a while, a few tears falling freely down Nino's cheeks as Alya steadily calmed down. Neither of them said anything, but Alya was comforted enough by his secure grasp to not need any words. They took the time to purely enjoy the presence of the other until she finally pulled her head back to stare lovingly into his soft, honey-colored eyes, despite how red and puffy they were. The girl grabbed his hand and linked their fingers as she sniffed once more, giving him a sweet smile and his hand a light squeeze. He smiled back with equal adoration. 

"Can we promise not to get too close to akuma attacks now?" he teased after a small sniffle. 

She placed her palm on his cheek and used her thumb to brush away another tear as she laughed lightly. "I don't ever want that to happen again," she replied, that clearly being answer enough. They spent a good minute staring into each other's eyes, taking it all in, when both pairs of eyes shifted to the other's lips.

They both simultaneously leaned forward slightly with lidded eyes and agape mouths, each noticing how drastic the atmosphere between them had changed in such a short amount of time. The hand on Nino's cheek moved lower until her thumb grazed his lip.

"You're a dummy," she whispered, surprising even herself at how voluptuous her voice sounded.

"I'm _your_ dummy," he replied with equal flirtatiousness.

Alya hummed as a response before finally closing the space between them. It was nice to be able to feel his mouth against hers without the lingering taste of blood and before she knew it, she clutched his shirt and pulled desperately, tilting her head in an attempt to get closer than she already was. She heard and felt him squeak in surprise at her actions but he recovered quickly and happily complied by tilting his head as well.

Neither knew how long they had been like that, for it felt like forever and nothing all at once, but eventually Alya pulled away, giving the now glazed-eye boy a warm and teasing smile. "I love you, you know."

Nino shook his head to get out of stupor before haughtily replying, "Hey, I was supposed to be telling _you_ that!"

"You already did," she giggled.

"So did you! And I mean it!" He placed both of his hands on her cheeks, giving her a look so soft, she thought she might melt on the spot. "Alya Césaire, you are the most beautiful woman I have _ever_ laid my eyes on and I will gladly do what I did today another thousand times if it meant you'd be safe. I love you so much an-and-mmph!"

Alya crashed her lips against his once more, already a crying mess once again at his words. He happily sighed into the kiss, bringing a hand up to her wonderfully soft hair.

No matter what happened, he knew they would always love each other. Of course, as sappy as it was, neither would want to be spending this holiday with anyone else.

Alya broke away after another moment and stood up, giggling again at Nino's dazed state. She grabbed his hand and dragged him off the bench, saying, "Come on, it's Valentine's Day and you're buying me flowers."

"O-Oh okay!" he laughed as she dragged him along. He truly did love this girl.


End file.
